The girl you wish you hadn’t started a conversation with at a party leaves the party.
Cecily Strong made her final appearance on the Christmas episode of “Saturday Night Live,” exiting the long-running NBC sketch show after 11 seasons.
Fittingly, she said goodbye to the Weekend Update office via recurring character Cathy Anne, Michael Che’s drug-addicted neighbor. With a Santa hat on her head and a cigarette in her hand, Kathy Ann admitted that she will eventually go to jail, but she’s not angry about it: “I think it will give me some stability that I’ve needed so much. I’ve made friends on the inside. they seem to be doing well,” she said next to an inset photo of departing cast members Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon.
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Strong then broke character in a switcheroo to sum up her time on “SNL”: “It’s just my time now, but I’ve had a lot of fun here. And I feel really lucky to have had so many of the best moments of my life in this place , with these people I love so much.”
In the final skit of the night, set at a Radio Shack Christmas party, Kenan Thompson paid tribute to his fellow cast member. “Honestly, I don’t think Radio Shack could have survived this long without Cecily,” he said. “Every time he came to work, he had a new character or a new accent or a new impression that would just blow you away. She would have a power and joy in her performance that made you remember why you loved working at Radio Parga in the first place.”
Strong then closed the show by singing “Blue Christmas” with host “Elvis” Austin Butler and the rest of the cast.
An “SNL” Instagram post earlier Saturday confirmed her departure: “Tonight we’re sending off one of the best to ever do it. We’re going to miss you, Cecily!”
Strong, 38, joined “SNL” in September 2012 as a featured player in the show’s 38th season, was promoted to repertory player a year later, and is the longest-running female cast member in the show’s history, breaking the mark held by McKinnon. . He co-wrote Weekend Update first with Seth Meyers, and when he left to host “Late Night” in 2014, Strong teamed up with writer Colin Jost.
She portrayed a number of political characters during the show’s run amid the Trump and Biden presidential administrations, including Judge Jeanine Pirro, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake; Plus, it brought hilarious original personalities to 30 Rock as well, like the aforementioned Girl and Cathy Anne and aspiring British singer Gemma.
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Strong made headlines last year for a personal abortion skit she did dressed as Goober the Clown in response to arguments the Supreme Court heard over a restrictive new Texas abortion law.
“I had an abortion the day before my 23rd birthday … but it’s a touchy subject, so we’re going to do fun clown stuff to make it more palatable,” Strong said along with Jost and Che.
During her time on “SNL,” Strong — who is nominated for an Emmy in 2020 and 2021 — appeared in movies like “The Meddler,” “The Boss” and “Ghostbusters,” as well as hosting the dinner of the White House correspondent in 2015. He will next star in the upcoming second season of the Apple TV+ musical comedy series “Schmigadoon!”
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